


Because Tamaki Married Eclair - excerpt

by Aryll (skullsandfairylights)



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 10:00:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20095435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skullsandfairylights/pseuds/Aryll
Summary: Ten years ago, Tamaki went to France and married Eclair. Now he's back and looking to reconnect with the other hosts.After speaking to Kyoya, he finds Haruhi working in a cafe.





	Because Tamaki Married Eclair - excerpt

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Because Tamaki Married Eclair](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2340440) by [skullsandfairylights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skullsandfairylights/pseuds/skullsandfairylights). 

> So this takes place within the universe of another fic that I tried writing years ago (and am I still hoping to finish one day). This is an excerpt that I wrote before writing what has come before it (I have half-written the meeting with Kyoya but I skipped finishing it to write this). 
> 
> I think you should be able to read it without having to read the start of the other fic, but let me know if I need to add anything to make something clearer.

Tamaki pulled his coat tighter around himself as he made his way down the street. He stared blankly ahead of him, barely taking in his surroundings as he was lost within his own thoughts. It had been two weeks since he had returned to Japan and only a few days since Kyoya had turned up at the house to welcome him back. During which meeting, he had told Tamaki about what all the other hosts had been doing during the 10 years he had spent in France.

He still found it hard to believe that the group had splintered as much as it did. He understood why Honey- and Mori-senpai were still together but the twins? It was difficult to think of one without the other, yet apparently while Kaoru had stepped up to join their mother’s work, Hikaru seemed to have vanished from the public eye and hadn’t been seen in months. And then there was Haruhi.

Everyone loved Haruhi, she had very quickly found herself a place within the group and become an integral part. How could it be that no one from the host club had remained in touch? (Kyoya didn’t count since he had purely kept tabs on everyone yet had not made any effort to actually communicate directly).

It was because of those tabs that Tamaki was out in the first place. Kyoya had reported that Haruhi had left Ouran Academy just before her final year of high school due to her losing her funding and so being unable to afford the school fees. After that, she had enrolled in one of the local public schools and worked part-time in a small convenience store. Then, rather than attending university after high school, she picked up two more jobs, one cleaning offices in the evenings and a weekend job, waitressing in a small café and coffeeshop. And Tamaki was going to the café in hopes of finding her.

When he found the small shop, he pushed open the door and scanned the room. It was a cosy place with some plush sofas and armchairs in the corners and some tall bar stools set at the high tables lining the windows. There were a couple of bookcases in the corner, filled with what looked like board games and a variety of books from novels to manga. Straight ahead from the door there was a glass cabinet, filled with food, some which he recognised from his teenage years when he would wander the ‘commoners’ markets. There weren’t that many customers in, just an elderly couple conversing over mugs of hot drinks and a group of young adults, heads buried in laptops and note cards spread over the table around empty mugs.

Tamaki walked up to the counter and perused what was on offer. When he had decided what to order, he spoke to the young man behind the till. As he paid with his card, the man handed him a card with a number and told him to take a seat anywhere. He selected a plush armchair in the corner which allowed him to see the whole room – the perfect vantage to see when Haruhi arrived.

It was only five minutes later that she finally appeared. He watched as she appeared from the door to the kitchen. It was definitely her. It had been a long time yet there was still just something so _Haruhi_ about her. She’d grown her hair out and currently, she had it tied back into a ponytail. She’d matured and grown into her body, her face had lost its boyish features, and her figure had become more feminine. She was wearing the café’s uniform, black trousers and t-shirt with an apron tied over her front. She was still so pretty.

Tamaki had been so distracted in identifying what had changed that he didn’t realise that she was carrying his order until she stopped at his table and had put his food down in front of him.

“Can I get you anything else?” She asked.

Tamaki looked up at her and he could almost pinpoint the moment she recognised him by the look on her face. “Hello Haruhi.”

“Tamaki-sen-, I mean Suoh-san, it’s good to see you again.” Tamaki smiled and tried to ignore the twinge he felt as she addressed him. “I didn’t know you were back in Japan.”

“Yes, I moved back just two weeks ago. It’s wonderful to see how things have changed, and how they haven’t.”

Haruhi smiled, “I bet. How is Éclair? Did she move back with you?”

Tamaki’s smile faltered, but years of putting on a façade paid off and he quickly pulled his mask back, “Uh, no. She didn’t. We divorced a couple of years ago. Last I heard, she was off in India with her latest partner.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Our marriage wasn’t working. It was for the best.”

Haruhi nodded and opened her mouth to speak when suddenly there was a call from the kitchen door. “Haruhi! Can you come give me a hand with something?”

“Yeah, be right there, Mizuki!” Haruhi called back. “Sorry, Suoh-san, I have to go. It was nice seeing you again.”

As she turned to leave, Tamaki suddenly grasped her forearm, “Wait, Haruhi, could we catch up some time? I’m sure that a lot has happened since we last saw each other.”

Haruhi frowned for a moment before she nodded once, “Sure,” and she pulled a napkin from the holder and scribbled down a phone number and an email address. “I’ll see you later, Suoh-san.” And then she was gone, disappearing through the door into the kitchen.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope to liked it!
> 
> Let me know your thoughts below if you want :)


End file.
